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Listen to the midi
We Three Kings
The
Three Kings
or
The
Three Magi
G
a s p a r
M
e l c h i o r
B
a l t h a s a r
in traditional capes, and
Phrygian caps
from the
Mosaic in the Basilica of St Apollinarius
in Ravenna, Italy. c. AD 600
in The Holy Epiphany
by Lewis
Williams, the relative ages of The Magi
are given --
those bearing gifts for the Christ child
are Caspar of Tarsus, Melchior of Persian and Balthasar of Saba.
Weary from desert travel, the Magi humbly offer their gifts.
Caspar is young, European and offers gold. Gold finances the
Holy Family's coming flight to Egypt and also symbolizes Christ's
immortality and purity.
For his generosity, Caspar
receives the gifts of charity and spiritual wealth.
Melchior is middle-aged, Persian and offers myrrh. Myrrh is
a fragrant gum, which the ancient Israelites believed to strengthen
children. This symbol of Christ's mortality was blended with
wine and offered to him on the cross, and also mixed with aloes
to wrap his body for the tomb. Melchior receives the gifts of
humility and truth.
Balthasar is elderly, Ethiopian and offers frankincense. Frankincense
is a resin used in incense for worship and also symbolizes prayer
and sacrifice. Balthasar receives the gift of Faith. And Christ,
humbling himself to become man, offers us the greatest gift of
all, the light that forever burns in the darkness.
Listen to the 2nd midi
version of
We Three Kings
When I was studying in Bonn, Germany in
the early 1960s, I visited nearby Köln
[= Cologne] many times to visit archaeological museums, churches
and other places of interest. The Kölner Dom
[Dom = cathedral -- virtually undamaged during WWII] was one
of my favorites, where I marveled at the impressive reliquary
tomb of The
Three Kings --
the relic I have of The Three Magi
most probably was obtained during the opening of the sarcophagi
mentioned on the right -- this may eventually be verified when
I have the resources and time to do research on the official
wax seal on the back of the relic which would identify the prelate
who issued the relic for public veneration and the dates of his
tenure
The front of my Limited Edition
[hand numbered 1 through 50, with 10 artist proofs] Christmas
card for 2006 is shown above -- each card was touched to the
First
Class relic of The Three KIngs
seen on the left
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Also
known as -- The Three Wise Men; The
Three Magi [plural for magus, meaning "a member of a hereditary
priestly class among the ancient Medes and Persians -- astrologers,
magicians, Zoroastrians]; Beltasar / Balthasar / Balthassar,
Gaspar / Caspar and Melchior
some older regional sources give local
/ national names to the kings -- others suggest that there were
MORE than three individuals or kings
Feast
Day -- 6 December, The Epiphany,
by Roman Catholics and other Christians; the Eastern Orthodox
Church celebrates it on 25 December
Born
-- unknown -- according to a text
of the 6th century, it is said that The Three Magi returned home
and were baptized by Saint Thomas and they spread Christianity
in their land. There are many legends and much conjecture concerning
The Three Kings, including WHAT did they follow, WHAT route did
they take, WHEN did they journey, WHAT town did they go to, was
it a cave, or a house, WHOSE home, WHAT route did they take when
returning home to elude King Herod, among others --
according to Marco Polo [13th century],
who relates a story prevalent in Iran in the mid 12th century,
one of the three Magi came from Saveh, one from Hawah, and the
third from Kashan, all in Iran = Persia -- others say Caspar
of Tarsus, Melchior of Persia and Balthasar of Saba.
Relics
-- Marco Polo claimed that he was
shown the three tombs of the Magi at Saveh south of Tehran in
the 1270s: "In Persia is the city called Saveh, from
which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Jesus
Christ. Here, too, they lie buried in three sepulchres of great
size and beauty. Above each sepulchre is a square building with
a domed roof of very fine workmanship. The one is just beside
the other. Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and
beards. One was named Beltasar, the second Gaspar, and the third
Melchior.." (Book i). When he asked the inhabitants
who the three kings were, he was told that nobody knew exactly,
they were kings and the tombs had been there for many years.
As Polo continued his quest for knowledge about The Kings, yet
more interesting stories emerged --
"Three days farther on, he found a
town called Kala Atashparastan, that is to say Town of the Fire-worshippers.
And that is no more than the truth; for the men of this town
do worship fire. And I will tell you why they worship it. The
inhabitants declare that in days gone by three kings of this
country went to worship a new-born prophet and took with them
three offerings -gold, frankincense, and myrrh - so as to discover
whether this prophet was a god, or an earthly king or a healer.
For they said : 'If he takes gold, he is an earthly king; if
frankincense, a god; if myrrh, a healer.'
When they had come to the place where the
prophet was born, the youngest of the three kings went in all
alone to see the child. He found that he was like himself, for
he seemed to be of his own age and appearance. And he came out,
full of wonder. Then in went the second, who was a man of middle
age. And to him also the child seemed, as it had seemed to the
other, to be of his own age and appearance. And he came out quite
dumbfounded. Then in went the third, who was of riper years;
and to him also it happened as it had to the other two. And he
came out deep in thought. When the three kings were all together,
each told the others what he had seen. And they were much amazed
and resolved that they would all go in together.
So, in they went, all three together, and
came before the child and saw him in his real likeness and of
his real age; for he was only thirteen days old. Then they worshipped
him and offered him the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh.
The child took all three offerings and then gave them a closed
casket. And the three kings set out to return to their own country.
After they had ridden for some days, they
resolved to see what the child had given them. They opened the
casket and found inside it a stone. They wondered greatly what
this could be. The child had given it to them to signify that
they should be firm as stone in the faith that they had adopted.
For, when the three kings saw that the child had taken all three
offerings, they concluded that he was at once a god, and an earthly
king, and a healer. And, since the child knew that the three
kings believed this, he gave them the stone to signify that they
should be firm and constant in their belief.
The three kings, not knowing why the stone
had been given to them, took it and threw it into a well. No
sooner had it fallen in than there descended from heaven a burning
fire, which came straight to the well into which it had been
thrown. When the three kings saw this miracle, they were taken
aback and repented of their throwing away the stone; for they
saw clearly that its significance was great and good. They immediately
took some of this fire and carried it to their country and put
it in one of their churches, a very fine and splendid building.
They keep it perpetually burning and worship
it as a god. And every sacrifice and burnt offering which they
make is roasted with this fire. If it ever happens that the fire
goes out, they go round to others who hold the same faith and
worship fire also and are given some of the fire that burns in
their church. This they bring back to rekindle their own fire.
They never rekindle it except with this fire of which I have
spoken. To procure this fire, they often make a journey of ten
days.
That is how it comes about that the people
of this country are fire worshippers. And I assure you that they
are very numerous. All this was related to Messer Marco Polo
by the inhabitants of this town; and it is all perfectly true."
The usually accepted version suggests that
the 4th century Saint
Helena Reg. [Reg. = Queen, wife of Constantius Chlorus before he was named Caesar / Emperor, and mother of Constantine The Great,
after which Constantinople was named -- now called Istanbul,
capital of Turkey] brought the relics from Persia to the Basilica
Church of Hagia
Sophia in Constantinople -- they were
later translated to Milan and later, by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick
I [also known as Frederick Barbarossa]
in AD 1164 were presented to Archbishop Rainald of Dassel of Cologne, Germany (= Köln], where they continue
to repose.
Construction of the present Cologne Cathedral
was begun in 1248 to house these important relics. The cathedral
took 632 years to complete and is now the largest Gothic church
in northern Europe.
Parts of the massive reliquary were designed
by the famous medieval goldsmith, Nicholas of Verdun, who began work on it in about 1180. It has elaborate
gold sculptures of the prophets and apostles, and scenes from
the life of Christ. The shrine was completed c. 1225.
Around 1199, King Otto IV
gave three golden crowns made for the three wise men as a present
to the church of Cologne -- because of the importance of the
shrine and the cathedral for the later development of the city,
the Coat of Arms of Cologne still shows these three crowns symbolizing
the Three Kings -- it is shown above
On July 20th, 1864, the shrine was opened,
and pieces of aromatic resins and similar substances were found
as well as numerous bones of three persons, which under the guidance
of several present experts could be assembled into nearly complete
bodies -- the one in his early youth, the second in his early
manhood, the third was rather aged. The bones were wrapped in
white silk and returned to the shrine -- see photo on left
Died
-- unknown
Canonized
-- Pre - Congregation.
Patronage
-- travelers, World Youth Day; Köln,
Germany
Representation
-- kings bearing gifts -- gold, frankincense,
and myrrh
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